Kirsten is Out of Surgery

Kirsten was out of surgery at noon today. That was about four and a half hours from start to finish. The doctor said he was able to do everything he planned. In other words, he cut her upper jaw and her lower jaw apart and made it so that her bite meets. She had very thin facial bone but he was still able to get the screws to stay in place in the plates. (It is too bad that Dr. Kitchen died. He kept Shawn from having to do what Kirsten is doing by giving him headgear). She will have lots of pain but they are keeping her sedated so that she can rest and heal. Tomorrow, when she comes home, our adventure will really begin. We must watch her meds so that she gets painkiller every four hours. The kids cannot sit on her lap or hug her for fear that they will jostle something loose and she will have to undergo more surgery. She cannot talk at all. She has to write what she wants on a white board. She has a doorbell buzzer in her room and it will ring downstairs. She has to sleep in a recliner so that her head is up. She will need to do that for six weeks. There will be no solid food for two weeks or more. She has a syringe that she will use to squirt juices in between her teeth (sealed together with elastics). We have to keep her locked up and away from the youngest kids for the next two weeks. I don't know how this is all going to work but I guess we will find out. Dad and I must leave at 5 a.m. to go and get her. I honestly do not know how any of you keep up with your lives. Taking kids to school, picking kids up from school, running errands, shopping, washing, ironing, fixing meals, keeping things moderately clean and having the company of wonderful little people while you do it AND staying on schedule.